SCOTS AID GROUP SACKED MAN OVER CHARITY SEX SCANDAL
A SECOND Scottish aid organisation has been dragged into the charity sex scandal after admitting a man was sacked over an ‘inappropriate relationship’.
Mary’s Meals yesterday revealed it had to launch an investigation into the conduct of a member of staff last year after he formed a relationship with a ‘local woman’ in one of the countries it works in.
Although officials said ‘no crime was committed’ he was dismissed.
The news comes as calls grow for charities to be named and shamed over the sexual abuse of beneficiaries following a Scottish Daily Mail revelation that the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has received 12 complaints in the last two years. Yesterday, the watchdog claimed the total was now 15 – but refused to name the charities.
Mary’s Meals, based in Argyll, works in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, feeding schoolchildren. It has received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Scottish Government.
Earlier this week, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund confirmed that it had dealt with two cases of alleged sexual misconduct involving children.
One involved the alleged rape in 2012 of a 15-year-old girl by a 45-year-old Burundian man who volunteered for a local partner organisation. The other case centred on an Ethiopian man accused of sexual misconduct with a boy under 16.
Last night, Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie called on OSCR to name the charities involved.
He said: ‘It was the secrecy surrounding the original Oxfam sexual abuse that has led to this crisis of confidence in the charity sector.
‘It would therefore be unwise to continue that secrecy now. I would urge OSCR and the charities themselves to rethink their approach.’
OSCR chief executive David Robb said: ‘Allegations of sexual misconduct are very serious and we do not take them lightly.
‘In these instances, we will always take the necessary regulatory action and work with every appropriate body to protect beneficiaries, volunteers and staff.
‘There is nothing, however, to suggest that these instances are more common in charities than in other organisations.’